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Thursday, December 11, 2008

Do you ever wonder what your real purpose here on earth is? Do you ever think about what you have done and what you have not done? Are there things that you sit and look at and say "Damn, I know I need to finish that." Sometimes life can be like a lake in the early winter. Let me tell you about our lake. Driving past the Lake, I see the ice has taken over the lake. The trees surrounding it's shoreline are bare now. Some of the leaves lay on the ice as if they were Viking ships that had been caught unawares. They sit motionless as if they are waiting for Spring to come back and set them free. Large Canadian geese walk across the ice, some sliding as they try to find a place to bed down. The vehicle scares them and some begin to "Honk" loudly. They seem to be asking me to leave them alone. Unsure about whether I will or won't leave, a small group starts to race across the ice. Their huge blue/black wings flapping in the wind help to give them lift. They honk louder as they fly over top of the vehicle. I am grateful they are outside and I am...inside. There is a place in the center of the lake, far too deep to be frozen so early in the year. The geese keep this place open for them to have a place to wet their feathers. I look to the east and see two deer cautiously sniffing the ice that covers the shoreline. One places a hoove on the ice and it sounds like a high-powered rifle being fired. The ice popping so loudly causes both deer to back into the hidden sanctuary of the forest. I can see them looking out from the trees, waiting... wanting to go back to the lakes edge but still startled by the ice popping.A crack now forms across the ice and seems to go on for ever. A red fox, unbothered by the sound, slips and slides his way across the ice. I watch him as he moves in the direction of the geese still swimming in the opening. Perhaps breakfast is on his mind. Maybe he just wants a closer look. He stops, well more slides to a stop.he sniffs the ice under his feet. the redness of his winter coat almost glistens in the suns light. His tail is full and looks like a long duster.His once black nose comes out of the snow pure white and he looks as if someone painted it on his face. I see one foot slip as if under the snow that now blankets the ice. He backs away, lifting a wet paw out of what must have been a thin place in the ice. He licks the paw and then makes his way back towards the shoreline, never looking back at where he had been. Life can be this way too.As I sit and take in the sites that surround me I think about life. I think about the ice that has formed on the lake. A coating, a protection of sorts that will be there until Spring warms it again and opens the way for new life. Sometimes, our purpose in life is hard to see. We wonder what we contribute to those we love and those we pass daily in our lives. We often cover ourselves in a protective manner, shielding everything inside from the harshness of hurt. We are a bit like those deer I watched trying to get a drink of water. We approach life and love with caution, the need drawing us out of the protection of the forest. We step forward but suddenly something echoes out and scares us back to the confines of our "forest." The ice, the very covering over our hearts seems to be thick enough to withstand a burden of our soul. But from a distance, all of it looks safe. The only way we can know for sure is to place a "hoove" on the ice and wait to see if it cracks.That fox took a chance and walked out on the ice. It all looked good until he found a thin spot. We too take on life sometimes and we go as far as we can. We will walk until we find a thin spot in the covering. And then... we go back to solid ground, waiting for loves warmth to come and open the waters up so that new life can come forth. Or, perhaps we just wait for winter to put a thicker covering of ice over our hearts so we can cross the lake and find new places to go. And just as the geese have done, we often leave a place open, right in the center of our heart, so we can still get out "feathers" wet if we choose to do so. A place to finish what we did not complete before winter began closing in on us.Nature can be so beautiful with its colors and animals and scenery that dazzles the mind. It can also be scary and dangerous if we are not cautious before we step out onto the ice. But every year, the Spring does come and does thaw the ice away. And every year, new life and new beauty comes out and we can once again see where it is safe to walk. We can see what it is we are here for, even if it is just to Be. Life can be that way too.

I am now on HubPages

I have begun writing more on HubPages.com. There are ample reasons for being there but mainly, I can do what I love best...Write. There is an incredible number of very talented writers on the site. You are sure to find an author or two that you enjoy following their writing. I would like to think I am one of them. Please join me there for some relaxing and reading.